Aggie "Gunman" Was Carrying Fake AK-47 For Halloween, Report Says

The student who caused a frantic shutdown of the Texas A&M campus was carrying a realistic-looking fake AK-47 he planned to use as part of a Halloween costume, an official report says.

The Bryan-College Station Eagle obtained the report under a public records request, and reports that the "gunman," a sophomore who is a 28-year-old Marine, was allowed by a gun instructor to borrow the fake weapon for a Halloween party.

While that makes sense in an Aggie way -- what better way to celebrate Halloween than by waving around a realistic AK-47 at a no-doubt drunken party? -- it does exonerate the bus driver who made the initial report.

He'd come under some criticism when initial reports said the "gunman" was a Corps member carrying a prop rifle that would be hard to mistake for an AK-47.

The fake gun was a hard plastic version of the assault rifle. The Eagle, which also has the 911 call at the above link, says no criminal charges have been filed in the case, but it is not clear whether the student or the person who let him borrow the gun would face any disciplinary hearings for possibly violating student-conduct codes.